Have You Suffered A Work Accident? You May Be Entitled To Financial Compensation In A Work Accident Claim.
According to the International Labour Organisation, more than 337 million work accidents happen each year. In Great Britain, an estimated 581 000 workers suffered a non-fatal work accident, for the period between 2018 and 2019.
A work accident is generally an incident that happens during the course of employment, which leads to some form of physical or mental occupational injury to those involved. Work accident claims that our solicitors deal with on a daily basis typically result from the following categories of work-related accidents:
- Poisoning and harmful substance ingestion;
- falls from a height;
- drowning or suffocation;
- electrocution;
- exposure to some form of an explosion or a dangerous chemical substance;
- attacks by humans and animals;
- slips and falls on floors, pavements or staircases;
- defective machinery;
- injuries caused by moving objects or heavy loads; and
- traffic and vehicle collisions.
How work accident happens?
A work accident can be caused by a combination of unsafe behavior and poor working conditions. When accidents happen and an employee suffers harm, it is crucial that an employer has adequate safety processes and policies. It is to deal with the work accident. If you suffer an injury at work due to someone’s fault, you can claim compensation. This will be a claim for compensation for the injuries and pain you endure due to the accident.
It is not always obvious who causes the accident, or who is legally responsible for your harm. In most cases, the employer is ultimately at fault. This means that the employer will be liable for an employee’s work accident. The fact is that they didn’t take reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of their staff. If an employer does not comply with this duty, there are sufficient grounds to start a compensation claim.
What Is The First Step In A Work Accident Claim?
Step 1: Report The Work Accident To Your Superior
If an accident happens and you sustain a work accident, you should complete the workplace accident report immediately. You will also need to report the accident to your manager so that your employer is aware of the incident. You can ask someone else to report your work accident for you if you are unable to do so yourself.
Who you will report your accident at work to depends on aspects such as:
Where you were working when you suffered the work accident
If you were working in your usual workplace, as an employee, make sure your employer knows about your accident. The best person to tell is probably your manager – check your staff handbook or intranet if you’re not sure. If you are self-employed, you have to report your accident to the Health and Safety Executive if it happened while you were working on your own premises.
If you were not working at your normal workplace, tell the person you usually report to when you’re there. It’s a good idea to let your usual line manager know about the work accident too.
If you are self-employed and working on a client’s business premises, you should inform the person you usually liaise with when you’re at the business premises about the injury. You will need to report the accident to the Health and Safety Executive if you were working in someone’s home when the accident occurred.
Your employment status at the time of the work accident
This relates to whether you were an employee, a contractor, or self-employed. You can check your employment status on GOV.UK.
Step 2: Record The Work Accident In An Accident Report Book
Record the accident in an official accident report book if employees in the firm are more than 10. It is important to do this yourself and explain the accident in your own words. If you are unable to do so, make sure a trustful manager does this. Smaller organisations often also have accident books, so just ask the relevant individual at your place of work whether it can be, and has been, recorded in the official accident report book. If there isn’t an accident book, our expert solicitors suggest that you write down the details of the accident in your own words and send it to your manager or the person you report to. Keep a copy for yourself. Our legal team will use this report in the compensation claim at a later stage.
Step 3: Seek Medical Attention For Your Work Accident
If the work accident is severe or fatal, it is crucial that the first aider on site come to the scene. Also, ensure to contact the emergency services immediately. Severe accidents at work can be life-threatening and can cause lifelong damage. Make sure you take whatever steps necessary to limit your physical injuries.
If you meet an accident at work, it is crucial that you visit the doctor as soon as possible. Even if you don’t initially think you get any injuries. It is possible that there are hidden damages, bruising, or swelling that might arise at a later stage. Your doctor will be able to record the details of your accident in your medical records. Also he would treat any injuries that you might sustain. Review your employment contract to see whether you can take time off of work to go to the doctor.
What Is The Process For Making A Work Accident Claim?
Before you make a work accident claim, we appreciate that you might have some questions about the legal process. For example, you might concern about making a claim against your employer. Else you might feel overwhelmed by the thought of making a legal claim while you are still recovering from illness. This is perfectly understandable. The Claim Justice team is here to answer any queries you might have and support you through your recovery process.
Claiming against your employer for an accident that wasn’t your fault can be intimidating. With assistance from the personal injury experts, you can take a step back from the action. Rest properly and recover fully from your injuries. Know that our solicitors manage efficiently and diligently your work accident claim.
The Claim Justice legal team has successfully closed hundreds of clients’ work accident claims over the years. We know and appreciate that accidents, both minor and serious, can affect people in different ways. Our work accident claims solicitors take each case seriously and deal with each client on an individual basis. They give 100 percent effort to carefully guide your work accident claim to a successful conclusion. Also, they help you to get the maximum compensation you deserve.
How Much Compensation Can I Claim In Work Accident Claims?
The amount of compensation for a work accident claim will change from one case to the next. It will increase and decrease depending on factors such as the severity of the employee’s injuries, the length of time needed to recover from injuries, and any complicating factors surrounding the injuries. Claim Justice has extensive experience in making compensation claims, and has resolved countless work accident claims over the years. We compile a general compensation guideline, showing for different amounts of compensation for particular injuries.
Your solicitor will provide you with an estimate of your compensation claim once they have the details of case. To give you an idea of the total compensation you can expect to claim, we set out a general guideline. It shows the amount of compensation for various levels of physical injuries in the table below.
| Compensation Amounts For Personal Injuries In Work Accident Claims | ||
| Severity of Injuries | Detail of Injuries | Examples of Average Compensation Awarded |
| Head Injuries | ||
| Extremely serious | Victims are unresponsive as a result of serious brain damage and maybe in a vegetative state | Between £230,000 and £335,000 |
| Moderate | Serious disability due to brain damage, loss of feeling in limbs, personality change and/or a mental disability | Between £170,000 and £220,000 |
| Mild | Minimal or no brain damage but might still have long term effects | Between £10,000 and £35,000 |
| Facial Injuries | ||
| Extremely serious | Facial disfigurement; serious scarring or burns | Between £24,000 and £80,000 |
| Moderate to serious | Simple fractures to multiple fractures and breaks in the facial area | Between £7,000 and £40,000 |
| Mild | Less serious scarring to minor scars | Up to £11,500 |
| Eye Injuries | ||
| The most serious | Completely blind and deaf | Around £330,000 |
| Extremely serious | Partial to substantial loss of sight in one or both eyes | Up to £220,000 |
| Moderate to serious | Restricted vision or loss of sight in one eye | Anything between £7,000 and £46,000 depending on severity |
| Mild | Temporary loss of vision due to smoke, liquids or other substances; Struck/hit in the eye | Up to £8,000 |
| Nose Injuries | ||
| Serious | Serious/multiple fractures to the nose resulting in permanent damage | Up to £20,000 |
| Moderate | Injuries not requiring surgery | Between £2,000 and £26,990 |
| Mild | Simple non-displaced fractures with full recovery | Between £1,400 and £2,160 |
| Ear Injury | ||
| Extremely serious | Complete loss of hearing | Between £77,000 and £93,000 |
| Moderately serious | Complete hearing loss in one of the ears | Between £26,000 and £38,000 |
| Mild | Hearing loss in one or both ears; tinnitus | Up to £38,800 |
| Shoulder Injuries | ||
| Serious | Paralysis, limb numbness, restriction in movement because of the injury in the neck and shoulder | Between £10,500 and £42,000 |
| Moderate | Semi-permanent damage; damage that restricts movement in arm and elbow | Between £6,700 and £10,800 |
| Mild | Damage to soft tissue that should recover within the year or slightly longer | Up to £6,700 |
| Back Injuries | ||
| Serious | Serious injury to the upper or lower back; paralysis or any relating issues to organs in the lower parts of the body | Between £33,000 and £137,000 |
| Moderate. | Covering a wide range of back injuries such as compression of the lumbar vertebrae, ligament or soft tissue damage, any constant pain and/or any discomfort | Between £10,500 and £33,000 |
| Mild | Strains and sprains, soft tissue injuries, a slipped disc, muscle pain | Up to £10,670 |
| Arm Injuries | ||
| Extremely serious | Amputation of both arms, the amputation of a single arm, or partial amputation of one or both arms | Between £82,000 and £255,900 |
| Serious | For major restriction and disability present in one or both the arms | Between £33,400 and £111,600 |
| Less serious | Restriction in movement and/or disability in the arms with substantial recovery | Between £16,000 and £33,400 |
| Simple | Between £5,200 and £15,000 | |
| Hand Injuries | ||
| Extremely serious | Amputation of one or both hands; loss of use of hands | Between £120,000 and £171,900 |
| Very serious | Total or effective loss of one hand from crushing and then amputation; partial amputation | Between £52,800 and £77,400 |
| Moderately serious | Finger amputations, crush injuries to the hand, penetrating wounds, deep lacerations | Between £24,700 and £52,800 |
| Less serious | Crushing injuries leaving some impaired function | Between £12,340 and £24,700 |
| Leg Injuries | ||
| Extremely serious | Amputation of one or both legs (full or partial amputation) | Between £83,500 and £240,500 |
| Moderately serious | Injuries to the leg which has caused lifelong restriction in movement and disability | Between £23,600 and £82,100 |
| Less serious | From simple leg fractures, breaks or soft tissue damage which has affected the muscle to leg fractures with an incomplete recovery | Up to £23,600 |
| Knee Injuries | ||
| Serious | Disability because of a knee injury, major damage to muscles, muscle wastage and soft tissue damage. Disability because of a knee injury, major damage to muscles, muscle wastage and soft tissue damage | Between £22,300 and £82,000 |
| Moderate | Minor disability because of the knee injury, damage to the muscle, cartilage, soft tissue, that causes pain and suffering | Up to £22,300 |
| Ankle Injuries | ||
| Extremely serious | The most serious ankle injuries that may cause deformity, degeneration of joints, and potentially amputation | Between £40,000 and £60,000 |
| Moderately serious | Fractures and injuries requiring extensive treatment, disability | Between £10,000 and £43,000 |
| Mild | Ankle fractures, ankle sprains | Up to £11,500 |
| Foot Injuries | ||
| Extremely serious | Amputation of one or both feet | Between £71,600 and £171,900 |
| Moderate | Serious injury to one or both feet that causes restriction, or disability | Between £11,000 and £60,000 |
| Mild | Basic injury to a foot with high chance of recovery | Up to £11,500 |
The different amounts of compensation in the table above are a broad guideline to compensation in work accident claims only. Claim Justice assesses the value of all potential work accident claims in completely free, confidential consultations once clients have provided our claims handlers with the details of their accident and injuries sustained.
What Will It Cost To Make Work Accident Claims?
The good news is that you won’t pay anything to start your work accident claim. We offer a No Win No Fee agreement to the vast majority of our clients. If your claim is not successful, you won’t have to pay a thing for our work. Thousands of clients have access to the justice they deserve. They got a fair chance to make a claim for rightful compensation for their injuries. It happens without any financial risk hanging over their heads.
What Happens When Work Accident Claims Are Successful?
A No Win No Fee agreement with Claim Justice means that our work accident claims team will only get paid if your claim is successful and you receive the compensation that you deserve.
We charge an average of 25% of the compensation you receive. Your solicitor will be sure to discuss the applicable success fee with you upfront. We agree on this before we start with your work accident claim.
What Happens If Work Accident Claims Are Unsuccessful?
Claim Justice carries the risk of your accident claim being unsuccessful. If we fail to get you justice, we won’t charge anything in that case. This means that you won’t need to pay us a thing if your accident claim is unsuccessful.
As a further source of protection, and to ensure that you are fully protected with complete peace of mind over your financial risks, the Claim Justice team will help you to secure ‘After the Event’ insurance. This insurance covers you in the unlikely event that you are unsuccessful with your work accident claim. Also in case, the court orders that you are liable to pay a part of the other person’s legal costs.
Why Choose Work Accident Claims With Claim Justice?
Personal injury solicitors resolve countless No Win No Fee work accident claims each year. The Claim Justice team works around the clock – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We help our clients get the justice and financial compensation that they deserve.
If you choose to make your claim with the help of Claim Justice on a No Win No Fee agreement, you can be assured that:
- You will receive free legal advice from one of our expert solicitors as to how best to proceed with your work accident claim;
- A member of the Claim Justice Team will be available to discuss your claim 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or to answer any questions that you might have regarding your work accident claim;
- If you are fruitless in your work accident claim, we will not charge you any legal fees for the work that we have done on your case;
- You won’t pay legal fees from your own pocket;
- We will use our best efforts to help you recover the maximum amount of compensation in the shortest possible time for the injuries you have suffered as an innocent victim of an accident in the workplace; and
- Our team will manage your work accident claim efficiently, keep you updated on its progress, and will make the entire compensation claim process less stress-free and less admin-heavy than if you had tried to make the claim by yourself.
Contact us
Contact Claim Justice at any time of day, on any day of the week, by filling out the short online form and waiting for us to call you back for free, or by calling one of our friendly road accident claims handlers on 0121 565 4317. If you would like to discuss your case from the comfort of your own home, please request a complimentary home visit from one of our friendly accident claims handlers now, so that we can start your claim without delay.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Happens If I Was Partly To Blame For My Work Accident Claim?
If you have been injured in a work accident that you played a role in causing, you won’t be disqualified from instituting a work accident claim. Say if you are found to have contributed to the injuries, then your compensation may, however, be reduced by your percentage of the blame. If you are worried that you don’t have a valid work accident claim because you voluntarily agreed to do something, for example, lift a heavy load or use a dangerous machine without proper safety or training, and this caused or contributed to their work accident injury, you need worry no longer. This is simply not the case, and you should make contact with an expert from Claim Justice as soon as possible to discuss how and when you can make a work accident claim based on the facts of your case.
Contact the work accident claims team now by filling out the short online form and waiting for us to call you back for free, or by calling one of our friendly accident claims handlers on 0800 567 7074 or 0121 565 4317. If you would like to discuss your case from the comfort of your own home, please request a complimentary home visit from one of our friendly claim handlers today, so that you can institute your claim as soon as possible.
Are There Time Limits For Making Work Accident Claims?
In the UK there is a general 3-year time limit applicable to filing work accident claims. If you have not initiated legal proceedings within 3 years of suffering the work accident, your case may be considered to be prescribed, and you may not be entitled claim compensation.
The 3-year deadline starts to run on the date that the accident occurred, or from the date on which you realized that your injury was associated with the accident at work. In fatal cases, the 3 year time period would start on the date of death.
Can I Get Paid If I Can’t Work Because Of My Injuries?
Have a look at your contract of employment. Your contract will set out whether you can get ‘contractual sick pay’ from your employer, and whether you have access to an employee assistance helpline or specific medical care. If you can’t find your employment contract or it is silent on these aspects, speak to your manager right away, check the staff handbook or speak to someone in human resources. Claim Justice team is here to guide you and will give you advice on how to make sure you get whatever benefits are available to you. Speak to one of our work accident claims solicitors now and get free legal advice as to the next steps you should take.
Can I Make Work Accident Claims On Behalf Of A Deceased Person?
Yes, you can make a claim on behalf of a deceased. If a family member dies due to a work accident, you can make a claim on their behalf. In case the deceased has a valid will, the executor of the estate pursues any claim on behalf of the dependents. If the deceased did not have a valid will, the law sets out exactly who can make a claim. The law surrounding accident claims on behalf of a deceased can become complicated. Seek the help of a legal professional if you think you have a valid work accident claim. Set up a free, no obligation consultation with one of Claim Justice’s claims experts. We will help you to determine whether you can make a compensation claim for fatal injuries.
Why Should I Seek Help From A Work Accident Claims Solicitor?
It is always advisable to contact a reputed and experienced solicitor before you file a work accident claim. It is important that you understand your legal position fully, as well as your rights and responsibilities before you make this sort of claim against the person that caused you harm. Claim Justice is here to provide you with free initial legal advice on the merits and process of making your claim, and we will support you through every step of the journey once you agree to let us handle your case. Our personal injury team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and will happily answer any questions you might have concerning your work accident claim.
As with all accident compensation claims, in work accident claims the most important burden of proof lies on an employee to prove that the work accident was caused as a result of another person’s negligence. Even if it was a straightforward accident in a factory, for example, caused clearly by your employer’s negligence, you will still need to prove this in court to be successful in your compensation claim. Our legal team has handled work accident claims many times before and will be able to assist you with assembling the necessary evidence for your claim in a persuasive and conclusive form.
What will happen if you seek our assistance?
By seeking assistance from the experienced legal professionals a Claim Justice, your entire work accident claims experience will be transformed – from a largely stressful, highly administrative experience to a relaxed, organized and efficient claims process, whereby your legal team takes over all the hard work and puts in 100 percent effort to help you win your case. At Claim Justice, our solicitors have been dealing with work accident claims for a long time; they have seen it all and done it all. By getting assistance from a legal professional with years of experience in work accident claims, it can mean the difference between a failure and a success in a ruling, or an average compensation and a maximum compensation pay-out in a successful claim.
To start your work accident claim , contact a member of the Claim Justice team at any time of day, on any day of the week, by filling out the short online form and waiting for us to call you back for free, or by calling one of our friendly injury claims handlers on 0121 565 4317. We are happy to answer any questions you might have about your potential work accident claim, without any cost or obligation on your part.
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